Steps in Buying Your New Home

Buying a new home can be a stressful process. There are several steps in buying a new home and when buying a home, it is important to know and understand each step of the buying processes. Knowing these steps and familiarizing yourself with each, will make the buying experience go a lot smoother and be exciting and enjoyable as it should be.

9 Steps in Buying a New Home:

1. Decide to buy a new home – Where do you want to buy your home? What are the things you are looking for in a new home? How are you going to finance your new home? Make a list of “must have” in a new home and “would like to have”.

2. Shopping for your new home – Now that you answered the first questions and know your criteria for your new home, it is time to start shopping and looking at homes that fit your criteria for your new home.

3. Making an offer – Once you found the home that you have fallen in love with and want to buy, you will make an offer to the seller for the home. Sometimes several offers, depending if the sellers accept or reject your original offer.

4. Offer Accepted – Once your offer is accepted there are many tasks to start doing as the clock starts running to complete the items. One clock that starts when the contract is executed, is the option period. During the option period, you will need to have at least an inspection of the home, completed by a home residential home inspector. There are possibly more inspections you will consider doing as well. In addition, if you are financing the home, the mortgage company will be asking for additional information from you.

5. Inspection – An inspection should be done on the home within a day or two of you having an accepted contract. Your Realtor will be able to help you by providing a list of inspectors and their information.

6. Appraisal – When financing your new home, the mortgage company will want to know the home is valued for at least the price of your mortgage. The mortgage company will schedule the appraisal.

7. Approved to Close – If the appraised value of the home meets the amount mortgaged, and are approved for the mortgage by underwriting, then the mortgage company will let you know that you are approved to close (usually 4-6 weeks).

8. Final Walk Through – Before actually closing, you will want to do a final walk through to make sure repairs you have requested are completed and that there have been no other changes in the home (usually 1 to 3 days before closing).

9. Closing – This the day you have been waiting for! You simply go to the title company and sign papers and get the keys to your new home.

As you can see there are many steps in the home buying process. Each step also contains additional items that need to be done and a buyer needs to be aware of. Let us help you in the purchase of your new home by discussing each step with you and making sure your home buying experience is exciting and goes as smoothly as you deserve it to.